


Moonshine

by Kariachi



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Disorder, Argit-centric fic, Blood, Death, Drabble Collection, M/M, Mid-Canon, Murder, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-that crap but still, Somebody had to write write their childhood together, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-07-23 22:01:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7481568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kariachi/pseuds/Kariachi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before Earth, before the betrayals and the hurt, they'd been a pair of young boys, stuck alone together in the next best thing to Hell.</p><p>You tend to get attached.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It’s the first night he’s anxious.

The two of them are still in the Null Void, holed up in a den his mother had hidden his siblings and himself in years before. It’s nearly impossible to tell day from night in the penal dimension, but they’re both so very tired they could hardly keep their heads up; Kevin is out within minutes of curling up across the space from him.

Argit can’t sleep.

He’s curled up against a wall, eyes screwed shut, working to keep his breathing steady. He heard a noise outside the entrance, like a ceu scuttling by, or some pebbles falling

Or someone coming in.

‘It’s nothing’ he repeats in his head, over and over, but it’s not. It’s not it’s someone and they’ve snuck in now and killed Kevin and he’s alone and they’re going to kill him too just as soon as he opens his eyes-

He opens his eyes, forces them wide- let it be quick let it be- and nothing happens. A slow, trembling glance around the space reveals nothing but Kevin sleeping, breathing. 

‘It’s nothing’ he thinks but gets to his feet anyway, sneaking towards the entrance, his gut telling him about them, the person coming for them, still outside and what they’ll do when Argit catches them, and he’s shaking but he pokes his head out of the safety of the den anyway. Better to know, better to get it over with, even as his brain tells him to go back to sleep.

Nothing. Nothing at all but a ceu grooming itself on a rock. He stands out in the cold, looking over the rocky terrain with its so many places to hide-

“Argit?” He turns and Kevin has gotten up, is walking up to him as he wipes the sleep from his eyes. “What are you doing?” Argit’s breath is uneasy.

“I heard something.” He says and Kevin stops, suddenly awake. The human comes outside and firmly plants a hand on his shoulder, ready to shove him back. He scans the area.

“I don’t see anything. Or hear anything.” Still, he leans down and picks up a rock, coating himself in it, and turns to Argit. “Everything’s clear,” he says, nodding inward, “go back to sleep. You said yourself we needed to get some rest.” 

Kevin follows him in, follows him to his spot by the far wall, and watches as he gets himself settled. He then carefully positions himself between the smaller teen and the entrance and closes his eyes.

“Night.” Argit stares at him and throws a quick glance outside. Well, if Kevin said it was clear… 

“Sleep well.” With a small noise he edges closer to his companion. He curls up against his back.

It’s the first time he thinks of Kevin and he feels safe.


	2. Chapter 2

Being cold is something he’s used to.

Argit had always been small for his age and underweight for his size. It was, what he considered, a natural side effect of growing up in the Null Void. There was never enough food to go around and with all the siblings he had, plus being a runt and so out-competed, hunger simply was a background noise to his life. Even when food was available he would often simply forget that that was what the gnawing pain in his stomach meant.

He often times held his small frame up as a positive. It made him fast, let him hide in places nearly nobody else could reach. If nothing else eliciting pity was easy when people could count your ribs. But it came with its low points.

He was fucking freezing.

There were no other words to describe it. The temperature control on the piece of shit ship they had gotten their hands on was busted and until Kevin could figure out how to fix it- and he’d sworn he would, or kill them both trying- they were stuck with a ship that was, to quote him, ‘colder than snow in your boots’.

Argit didn’t know what ‘snow’ was, but he’d already decided he wanted no part of it.

“You gonna be okay over there, Argit?” Curled up tight in the co-pilot’s chair Argit buried his muzzle deeper into his knees and aimed a shivering glare at Kevin.

“I hate you and everything you stand for, Levin.” 

“It worked when I grabbed it, I’m telling you!” Kevin spared him a glance and snorted at the sight. Argit glared harder. “Sorry man, it’s just you’re…” He waved a hand between them, trying and failing to properly mime ‘you’re all poofy’. It was not endearing.

“Hate.” Shaking his head, Kevin stretched out his arm, gesturing for his friend.

“Get over here, Hedgehog.” There was a pause as he stared suspiciously at the bare arm and the scars on it. Kevin gestured again. “Come on.” Argit unfurled himself and stood up.

As soon as he was within reach Kevin’s hand was on his arm. He pulled the furred alien into his lap and clutched him tight against his chest, piloting the craft one-handed. 

“Damn you’re cold.” Argit scoffed.

“You fucking think?” All he got in reply was another snort and a quick squeeze. Pulling his legs up underneath himself, Argit burrowed into Kevin’s shirt, nose pressing into the younger teen’s collar, and felt his fur start to lay flat again.

He’d never thought of Kevin as warm before, after this he would never be able to stop.


	3. Chapter 3

It’s before he ever considers life with Kevin safe, or sees him as warm.

Instead all Kevin is is rough, cold stone, pinning him to the ground. They’re crouched among a pile of boulders praying they won’t be seen.

“I saw them run this way, I know it.” One of their pursuers calls and Argit finds himself trying to burrow deeper into the unyielding rock beneath him. They’ll find them, of that he’s certain. They’ll notice the oddly-shaped boulder Kevin is trying to be, or his quills or tail will be sticking out from the tight ball he’s curled into underneath him, and they’ll be caught. He and Kevin can’t take on six adults, his aim isn’t nearly that good and he’s certain at least one was armed; they would be entirely at their mercy. 

He draws himself in tighter.

“Well they aren’t here now.” Another says. He hears heavy claws rasping on the rocks around them and prays she won’t think to climb over them. They rasp again, he hears a thud a few feet away and thinks he may cry from relief. 

“We should head back. Don’t need to find out the brats doubled around and cleaned us out while we were distracted.” There are murmurs of general agreement and slowly the boys hear footsteps pass and fade. Minutes pass, Kevin breathes for the first time since they’d heard the footsteps.

“I, I think they’re gone.” He says, hands shaking, and drops his stone armor.

Argit has never been this close to him before, so close he’s forced to consciously keep the quills on his arms and back flush with his skin for his safety, so close he can feel his weight. He’s never been able to smell him like this. 

His nose is suddenly full with the familiar scent of blood, sweat, and dust. Motor oil from the machines he’s begun to tinker with every chance he gets, musk, and a million other things he can’t identify. But mostly he smells, him. An overwhelming scent that from the moment it hits him carves itself into his brain as KEVIN. He could breathe it in forever.

“We need to be more careful. Next time we might not get so lucky.” Argit says as Kevin sits back and scans the horizon, part because it should be said; part to hold back the whine he feels in his throat as the scent wafts away.

“Yeah.” He watches Kevin climb down from the pile and refuses his offered hand. They don’t bother with bearings before they start walking.

Being up close with Kevin starts to become somewhat soothing after that.


	4. Chapter 4

Argit is terrified.

He’s managed to drag Kevin behind a small outcropping of rocks, but he’s still unconscious, still too fucking pale, and his leg-

Argit’s managed to patch it up. The long gash down the back of the other boy’s thigh has been sewn back together with a quill and some threads from his shirt, bandaged with the clothes of the bastard who had dared to still breath when Argit’s friend, his only friend, the only person that mattered, was bleeding out. The thought crosses his mind that he should probably dispose of his own, piled out in the open and soaked through with blood.

It’ll be a miracle if the wound isn’t infected by tomorrow.

“Come on, Earthboy. You gotta wake up for me.” His hand cards through black hair, eyes searching, begging for any sign of life besides the shaky rise and fall of Kevin’s chest. The flutter of an eyelid, the twitch of a finger, even a spasm from his leg would be enough. Just something he can hold to, make proof he’ll be okay. “Come on… ”

He focuses on the hands. Those are what always move first in stories, right? The hands. With their thick, calloused fingers and palms and backs a solid mass of scar moving up his forearm. It occurs to Argit that he doesn’t know how he got it, why his hands and arms are torn so. Or any of his scars. The triangular one on his chest, the burns across his front, the gash on his side, the line on the small of his back. They’ve been together for at least a year and he doesn’t know anything about these wounds.

In fact, he realizes, he doesn’t really know much of anything about Kevin.

He might not get the chance to learn. 

“Kevin, buddy, give me _something_ ,” he’s shaking, he knows he’s shaking, he’s been shaking ever since he saw his leg split down the middle, but now it’s worse. Now he might be alone. He might be alone and he doesn’t know shit about Kevin and he can’t die when Argit hardly fucking knows him and his voice is shaking and cracking and he can feel tears coming, “Kevin please-!” and he’s gripping Kevin’s hair like a lifeline, like if he doesn’t let go then neither will he

And there’s a groan.

It’s faint but it’s there and Argit is grinning and the tears are there and it doesn’t matter because one brown eye is cracking open and he thinks he could fly on pure relief.

“‘rgit?” His hand moves to Kevin’s cheek and he nods, tears falling faster as his friend just manages to lean into his touch. “Fuckin’ ‘urts.” 

“I know, Earthboy,” and he grins wider because Kevin is awake, he’s talking, and this has to be a good sign it just has to be- “you’re gonna be fine. You just rest up, I’ve got this.” And Kevin cracks a smile and his heart is gone.

He’ll be fine, just fine, Argit’s going to make damn sure of that, and when he is, once he’s strong enough to do more than reach for his hand and fall asleep, Argit’s going to learn the story behind every one of his scars.


	5. Chapter 5

He’s alone.

That’s not completely true, a feral vulpimancer is there. There and clearly hungry from the way it’s run Argit down, has him cornered against a rocky outcropping. Somewhere in the back of his mind he notices that it’s quite young, but even a pup is massive compared to him, especially as it looms over him. His quills are raised, body tense, by the moon why did they split up how could they be so stupid, and the predator lunges, he dives aside, pain sears through him-

he screams

When he opens his eyes he can see the Vulpimancer laid out in front of him, lips full of poison quills and chest slowly rising and falling with sleep. The throbbing pain in his head is identified, through feel and sight, as teeth, yellow and sharp, like knives through his ear and his heart is going like mad. The poison will only last so long, and when it does he’ll be head to jaw with a giant, hungry predator. He can’t run, not with his ear in it’s teeth, the only way out is- 

There are tears in his eyes. He doesn’t want to lose an ear, but he doesn’t want to die

“Argit!” 

A cloud of dirt puffs up as a familiar shape drops into view and the pressure on Argit’s heart falls away. There was a reason he’d run this way, running towards Kevin, towards safety, and there he was. Argit doesn’t hear his harsh breathing, or see the panic on his face- “Fuck, hold on buddy, it’s gonna be fine”- the way his hands shake, he only sees Kevin, covered in stone, forcing his hands and feet between the vulpimancer’s teeth. See’s him pulling the jaws apart, straining to keep them apart with one hand and foot while he gently removes the small rodent’s battered ear. 

Argit sits up, slowly, and watches the jaws fall shut, watches Kevin giving his attacker a rage-fueled kick to the teeth. Watches him turn, watches the stone fall from his skin and the color from his face when he sees him. The reaction isn’t surprising, he can feel the blood running down the side of his head, the wind whistling through parts of his ear that it’s never whistled through before. He’s close to a panic himself and only holding back thanks to his certainty of his own safety. Kevin is there, he’s safe, he’ll be okay, Kevin said so. He forces a small smile through the pain.

“Thanks.” This seems to break Kevin from his stupor and he collapses by Argit’s side, pulling his shirt over his head. 

“Don’t thank me yet, Hedgehog,” he says as he gently goes at the wound with the dirty black cloth, “not until we’ve at least gotten a look at this. ‘kay?” He pastes on a smile and Argit can’t nod like this so he smiles back.

Kevin swears as he works, in every language he knows to swear in. He swears about the vulpimancer that’s still only a few feet away, about their lack of water to clean the wound with, about the lack of decent first aid, about being stuck in the Null Void in general. He swears and Argit listens, hand on the human’s knee that he doesn’t even realize he’s clenching until Kevin’s hand leaves his ear and squeezes it amidst reassurances that everything will be fine. Somehow he makes Argit believe it. 

Eventually the bleeding stops, after countless cleared blood clots, and Kevin leans back to chew on his lip and contemplate their next step.

“We could sew it back together?” Argit says, remembering his father patching up a long wound on one of his brothers’ tails, he’s never done it himself but it hadn’t seemed all that different from any other patchwork. Kevin looks uncertain.

“I don’t know how to sew. Don’t know if I wanna learn on you.” Argit gives him lopsided smile.

“I’ll talk you through it.”

It hurts, Argit’s quills weren’t made for sewing but they’re the best they have, and shirt threads are searing as they go through flesh and cartilage, especially when they’re dirty, but there’s nothing else. In the end Kevin’s stitching proves to be loose and uneven, and both of them can see re-stitching in their future. But the ear, by nightfall, is holding together and Kevin is carrying Argit back toward the shelter they’d left that morning. He’s careful not to jostle him, and the air is stuffed full of his apologies, inquiries about how Argit is feeling, and promises not to leave him alone again. Never again. He talks and worries and apologizes, and Argit curls up safe in his arms, tail trying its best to curl around Kevin’s thigh. 

For the first time since his family left, Argit doesn’t feel alone.

**Author's Note:**

> I may headcanon that Argit has an anxiety disorder. Most of the time he can manage, but sometimes, well, Kevin comes in handy.


End file.
